Surrogate Pregnancy

Chapter Fifteen Part 16

Nicole was home from work cooking dinner, when he knocked on her door. She was surprised and upset, when she saw him standing there.

"What is wrong?" She stammered, his face was determined and his jaw clenched.

He relaxed a little, "Can I come in? I have some very important things to tell you. Don't be frightened, Lydia is okay, as far as I know."

Nicole stood back and he came in, and closed the door behind him. Feeling better, she told him to sit on the lounge, while she made some coffee. She lowered the heat on the casserole, and gathered cups and plates. Soon they were sitting with coffee and homemade cookies. She looked at him. He had lost weight, and looked a little haunted.

"So what brings you here? You look terrible, sorry I mean totally worn out. Are you?" He pulled his hand through his hair, making it stand on end. "Yes you can say that, but I think together, we can sort it all out."

She frowned, "what exactly?" He told her everything, from the beginning. She listened without a word, her eyes wide, and her face pale and frowning.

When he finished with asking her to come with him to Binna Burra, she slowly said, "You think we can find her in time?"

He just nodded, "Yes, I think this Ross fellow has family over there, we just need to find his relatives." Nicole suddenly felt her checks go deep red, she had to confess she was the one to call Ross. The reason Ross found Lydia in Darwin.

He was watching her. "Something I should know?"

She nodded, "I called Ross, and told him she was all alone, when she first came up there, she was very upset." Leon could see she was uncomfortable telling him.

"That is OK Nicole, so many confusing things has happened. I think we should make friends, we are both really doing our very best." He looked into her eyes. "Friends?"

Very relieved she nodded. "Yes, we both love her to bits, we should be friends. She got up and walked towards the kitchen. "First we will have some of my very nourishing casserole. Chicken, Mungbeans, lentils, curry and rice, with spices and garlic."

He smiled, "Sounds heavenly." He pulled a bottle of Riesling out of his satchel. "This will go with it very nicely, let us celebrate our friendship and that our efforts will succeed."

They had dinner and toasted each other, and then Nicole packed both hers and Marmalades necessities for the trip

The morning was still grey, when Nicole fried eggs and tomatoes, to go with bacon and toast. She had been thinking about the situation. She was going to call Alice Springs Hospital and ask for Monica. She had heard about her, she was Lydia's friend. She might know, or be able to find out, about Ross, and relatives. Leon woke to coffee and bacon smell, he had been sleeping on a fold out bed, in the back of the lounge. He felt rested and full of beans, rearing to go.

"Great smells are coming my way." He went out to the bathroom to shover, and was back at the table, five minutes later. She told him she was calling Alice Springs.

After breakfast she called, and after numerous transfers, she had Monica on the line. Monica asked around, and they found out that Ross sometimes went to Singapore. He visited his sister, who was married to an embassy secretary. She apparently lived on embassy ground. That explained why, she was off the grid in Singapore.

Nicole thanked her heartily and hung up. Leon, who had shamelessly listened to the conversation, grinned, "Found her, she will be very safe living there."

A little before lunch, the Cessna lifted again, and soon Melbourne disappeared behind them. Lydia had packed to stay away a long time. She had called work, and they were losing patience with her. So she had resigned, thinking it was unlikely she would come back. Except to get the rest of her belongings, and sort her flat out. She felt relief, about getting out of Melbourne, at this point. Too much had happened there. Leon also felt good; he could see the light, at the end of the tunnel. They were actively moving towards a solution.